Work-supporting and attaching means



May 1, 1934 WORK SUPPORTING AND ATTACHING MEANS Filed June 5, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.1.

May I, 1934. F. w. HOMAN- 1,956,684

WORK SUPPORTING AND ATTACHING MEANS Filed June 5, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 //v l/E/V 70A; *R-M ma Patented May 1, 1934 STATES PATENT 0FFIE Frank W. Homan, Brookline, Pa., assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Paterson, N. J a corporation of New Jersey Application June 5, 1931, Serial No. 542,364

19 Claims.

This invention relates to means for supporting work-portions and for attaching them to one another, it being especially useful in connection with the securing of counters in turn-shoes having sewed seats. In worlo of this character, whether the counters are nailed within the shoes by hand or by machine, pressure should not only be applied to cause the upper to adhere to the pasted counter, but the upper should also be drawn away from the inseam, so it will lie smoothly over the counter. An object of this invention is to effect such positioning of portions of a shoe and to retain them while the nailing or securing operation is being performed upon said shoe.

In the attainment of this object, I provide a work-support or jack having heeland toe-sections relatively movable toward and from each other in engagement with a supported shoe, and, combined with this support in a novel manner, a clamping member arranged for contact with the rear counter-portion of the upper of the supported-shoe. When a counter is to be attached within a shoe, the support is arranged to hold the counter in preparation for the application of the shoe to said support. Preferably, the clamping member is both of yieldable material and yieldably mounted. Actuating connections to the movable section of the support allow said section andthe clamping member to be brought into work-engaging relation and there locked for the nailing operation. The effect of the extension of the sectional support, occurring simultaneously with the frictional engagement of the clamping member with the counter-portion of a shoe on the support, is to draw the upper over the counter, forcing the two together and removing wrinkles from the upper-material. While thus held, attaching nails may be driven through the shoe-sole and the flange of the counter. plished manually or by machine. In the latter instance, my work supporting jack may be mounted upon a reciprocatory carrier member or cross-head co-operating with nailing mechanism, the clamping member being also carried by the cross-head for co-operation with the jack. As before indicated, the clamping member is yieldable, being displaced under the influence of the jack, and means is provided for assuring correct alinement with the nailing mechanism of the jack in its extended relation. The jack-sections and associated clamp are shown as slidable together upon the cross-head, so they may be drawn out from the nailing position to render them This nailing operation may be accommore accessible for the application and removal of the work.

In the accompanying drawings is illustrated a counter-attaching machine embodying my invention in one form.

Fig. 1 of said drawings shows a portion of such a machine in broken side elevation;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the worksupport and clamping means;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken between the heeland toe-sections; and

Fig. 4, a top plan View.

Considering the invention in a form adapted for the machine-nailing oi counters, I have at 10 a portion of the frame of a counter-attaching machine, which may be generally as disclosed in Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,461,893, Conner, July 17, 1923. Upon the frame is fixed a die-block 12, in which are vertical passages 14 to receive counter-attaching nails, and in which operate drivers 16 depending from a movable top-girt l8. Reciprocating vertically in the lowor portion of the frame is a carrier member or cross-head 20, upon which is movable horizontally a mounting member or slide 22 guided in ways 24.

Upon the slide is mounted a work-support or jack J, which consists of independent toeand heel-sections 26 and 28, respectively. Each section is in the form of a post or standard rising from the slide. The section 26 has a separable portion 30, and the section 28 a like portion 32, these respectively generally corresponding in' form to the toeand heel-ends of a last. If desired, these portions 30 and 32 may be changed to cause them to better conform to the particular work being operated upon. The section 26 is adjustable upon the slide 22, longitudinally of the jack J as a whole, by a slot-and-sorew connection 34. This allows its normal relation to the section 28 to be varied to adapt the organization to operate effectively upon different sizes of Work. The section 28 is movable toward and from the companion section, being arranged to slide in extending between the connecting-rod and the member 22, returns the section 28 to its normal position. To temporarily lock the movable section in its extended relation against the force of the spring 46, it may carry a pivoted detent 47 urged by a spring 48 into engagement with a series of ratchet-teeth 49 located at the top of one of the members furnishing the ways 36. The section 28 may be released for restoration to normal by disengaging the detent from the ratchetteeth, the operator for this purpose manipulating the detent by its upwardly extending end.

Rising from the rear of the member 22 is a fixed standard or post 50 carrying, spaced from each other along a horizontal plane, two horizontally movable slide-rods 52, 52 bearing at their forward extremities a cross-bar 54. Secured upon the bar is a contact or clamping member 56, preferably of rubber or like yieldable material. This member 56 is supported opposite a portion 58 of the jack member 28, this portion curving outwardly beyond the rear edge of the heel-top-plate 32. At the center of the member 56 is shown a depression 60 permitting engagement with the opposite sides of the rear counterportion of the upper of a jacked shoe, and, therefore, better frictional contact. The clamp 54, 56 is yieldable as a whole rearwardly against springs 62, 62 encircling the rods 52 between the bar 54 and the post 50. The extent to which these springs are normally compressed and the location of the clamp may be altered by nuts 64 situated upon threaded ends of the rods 52 and abutting against the rear face of the post.

In using the apparatus in the form illustrated, at the beginning of the operation, the slide 22 is in its outer position on the cross-head 20, so the jack J is clear of the nailing mechanism. The heel-section 28 of the jack will be drawn by the spring 46 to its forward position nearest to the toe-section 26, the detent 47 having been released from the rack 49 at the termination of the previous operation. This is as appears in Figs. 1 and 2. A counter C, with its outside coated with paste, is applied to the top of the heel-section 28 (Fig. 2). A turn-shoe, right side out with the material in temper and with the lining L loose and depending from the upper U, is taken by the operator, and the heeland toe-ends pressed toward each other. The toe is slipped over the forward plate 30 of the jack, and the rear portion brought over the top of the heel-section 28 and the counter thereon. There is sufficient excess of length of the shoe over the separation between the opposite outer extremities of the jack-sections so the operator may draw down the rear of the shoe until the inseam is substantially below the work-contacting face of the plate 32. He thus holds the shoe and gradually depresses the treadle, so the rearward travel of the jack 28 straightens the sole and attached upper. Just after the counterportion of the upper reaches and is pressed against the face of the clamping member 56, the shoe is so extended that a tensioning of the upper begins, drawing the inseam upwardly over the protuberance 58 of the heel-section toward its natural position just inside the edge of the plate 32. But the member 56 is now in frictional engagement with the upper, resisting its movement. As a result, the upper is simultaneously pulled smoothly over the counter C and pressed against its pasted surface. All the wrinkles are thus removed from the upper, and perfect ad hesion between the parts assured. When the proper tensioning and smoothing effect has been applied to the upper by the rearward movement of the section 28, the rear of the sole S will be correctly located with respect to the fiange of the counter over the upper surface of the plate 32, and the clamping member 56 will have reached a predetermined point, which may be fixed by the full compression of the springs 62 adjusted by the nuts 64 to give the desired result. The operator releases the treadle 45, the section 28 remaining locked in its extended relation by the engagement of the detent 47 with the teeth 49, and moves the slide 22 back under the nailing mechanism to a point determined by an adjusting-screw 66 threaded into a bracket rising from the crosshead 20, said screw contacting with the slide. On account of this adjustment and the definite posi tion of the heel-portion of the jacked shoe upon the slide 22 as established by the compression of the springs 62, that area of the sole over the counter-fiange in which it is desired to drive the attaching nails will be in the correct vertical alinement with the passages 14. The operator may therefore raise the cross-head 20 until the shoe is pressed against the under side of the die-block 12, supply nails to the passages 14 and start the machine in action. Thereupon, final pressure is applied to the work, and the drivers 16 descend and insert the nails to complete the attachment of the counter. After the retraction of the drivers, the operator pulls out the slide 22 with the jack J, releases the detent 4'? so the sections are contracted by the spring 46, and removes the work for further operations upon it, which include the pasting of the interior of the counter C and the turning-in and securing of the lining L upon the coated surface.

In applying my invention to the driving of the counter-attaching nails by hand, the member 22 may be in the form of a base fixedly attached to a bench. The jack-structure and the manner of use may be as just described, except that, having tensioned and clamped the upper, the workman drives the attaching nails with a hammer.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. The combination with a shoe-support provided with heeland toe-sections having a relative movement of approach and separation in engagement with the interior of a supported shoe, of a yieldable clamping member arranged for contact with the rear of the counter-portion of the upper of the shoe upon the support as a consequence of the movement of separation of the sections.

2. The combination with a shoe-support provided with heeland toe-sections relatively movable toward and from each other, a clamping member of yieldable material arranged for contact with the rear of the counter-portion of a supported shoe, and a mounting for the member, said mounting being arranged to yield under the influence of the relative movement of the sections.

3. The combination with a shoe-support provided with heeland toe-sections arranged for engagement with the inside of a supported shoe and relatively movable toward and from each other, of a yieldable clamping member arranged for contact with the rear of the counter-portion of the upper of the shoe upon the support, and means arranged to vary the normal position of the member.

4. The combination with an extensible jack arranged to support a shoe and having heeland toe-sections, one of which is movable toward and from the companion section, of actuating means for the movable section, and a member frictionally engaging the counter-portion of the jacked shoe to resist movement of the upper over the heel-section of the jack during its extension.

5. The combination with an extensible jack arranged to support a shoe and having heeland toe-sections, one of which is movable toward and from the companion section, of actuating means for the movable section, means for locking said section in its extended position, and a member frictionally engaging the counter-portion of a jacked shoe to resist movement of the upper over the heel-section of the jack during its extension.

6. The combination with an extensible jack arranged to support a shoe and having heeland toe-sections, one of which is movable toward and from the companion section, of actuating means for the movable section, means arranged to vary in position and secure against movement the companion section, and a member frictionally engaging the counter-portion of a jacked shoe to resist movement of the upper over the heelsection of the jack during its extension.

'7. The combination with a mounting member of a toe-support carried thereby, a heel-support guided to slide upon the member toward and from the toe-support, a counter-clamping member yieldable upon the mounting member, and operator-controlled connections for sliding the heel-support toward the clamping member.

8. The combination with a mounting member, of a toe-support carried thereby, a heel-support guided to slide upon the member toward and from the toe-support, a counter-clamping member yieldable upon the mounting member, operatorcontrolled connections for sliding the heel-support toward the clamping member, and means for adjusting the position of the toe-support toward and from the heel-support.

9. ifhe combination with a mounting member, of a toe-support carried thereby, a heel-support guided to slide upon the member toward and from the toe-support, a counter-clamping member yieldable upon the mounting member, operator-controlled connections for sliding the heelsupport toward the clamping member, a series of teeth carried by the mounting member, and a detent pivoted upon the heel-support and engaging the teeth.

10. The combination with a mounting member, of a toe-support carried thereby, a heel-support guided to slide upon the member toward and from the toe-support, a post rising from the mounting member, a rod arranged to move horizontally through the post, a yieldable clamping member fixed to the rod in alinement with the counter-portion of a shoe on the support, and a spring urging the member toward the heelsupport.

' 11. The combination with. a mounting member, of a toe-support carried thereby, a heelsupport guided to slide upon the member toward and from the toe-support,,a counter-clamping member yieldable upon the mounting member, operator-controlled connections for sliding the heel-support toward the clamping member, a series of teeth carried by the mounting member, a detent pivoted upon the heel-support and engaging the teeth, and means arranged to vary the normal position of the clamping member.

12. In an attaching machine, nailing mechanism, a reciprocatory carrier member, an extensible jack arranged for engagement with the opposite extremities of the inside of a shoe and movable upon the carrier member into and out of co-operation with the nailing mechanism, and a counter-clamping member mounted upon the carrier member and co-operating with the jack.

13. In an attaching machine, nailing mechanism, a reciprocatory carrier member, an extensible jack movable upon the carrier member into and out of co-operation with the nailing mechanism, a counter-clamping member mounted upon the carrier member and co-operating with the jack, and means for correctly alining in its extended relation the jack with the nailing mechanism.

14. In an attaching machine, nailing mechanism, a reciprocatory carrier member, an extensible jack movable upon the carrier member into and out of co-operation with the nailing mechanism, and a counter-clamping member yieldable upon the carrier member under the influence of the extended jack.

15. In a counter-attaching machine, nailing mechanism, a reciprocatory cross-head, a slide movable horizontally upon the cross-head into and out of co-operation with the nailing mechanism, an extensible jack mounted upon the slide, a treadle, and connections to the treadle for extending the jack.

16. In a counter-attaching machine, nailing mechanism, a reciprocatory cross-head, a slide movable horizontally upon the cross-head into and out of co-operation with the nailing mechanism, a jack having a section fixed upon the slide and a section movable upon said slide, a toggle joining the slide and movable section, and connections to the toggle for actuating the movable section.

17. In'a counter-attaching machine, nailing mechanism, a reciprocatory cross-head, a slide movable horizontally upon the cross-head into and out of co-operation with the nailing mechanism, an extensible jack mounted upon the slide, a treadle, connections to the treadle for extending the jack, and means for locking the jack in its extended relation during the co-operation of the slide with the nailing mechanism.

18. In a counter-attaching machine, nailing mechanism, a reciprocatory cross-head, a slide movable horizontally upon the cross-head into and out of co-operation with the nailing mechanism, a jack having a section fixed upon the slide and a section movable upon said slide, means for actuating the movable section to extend the jack, a counter-clamping member yieldable upon the slide and co-operating with the jack, and means for limiting the yield of the clamping member under the influence of the movable jacksection.

19. In a counter-attaching machine, nailing mechanism, a reciprocatory cross-head, a slide movable horizontally upon the cross-head into and out of co-operation with the nailing mechanism, a jack having a section fixed upon the slide and a section movable upon said slide, means for actuating the movable section to extend the jack, a counter-clamping member yieldable upon the slide and co-operating with the jack, means for limiting the yield of the clam ing member under the influence of the movable jack-section, and means for limiting the movement of the slide upon the cross-head, such limitation of movement correctly alining with the nailing mechanism the jack in its extended relation.

FRANK W. HOMAN. 

